Directed by Michael Powell • 1941 • United Kingdom
Starring Laurence Olivier, Raymond Massey, Anton Walbrook
At once a compelling piece of anti-isolationist propaganda and a quick-witted wartime thriller, 49TH PARALLEL is a classic early work from the inimitable British filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. When a Nazi U-boat crew, headed by the ruthless Eric Portman, is stranded in Canada during the thick of World War II, the men evade capture by hiding out in a series of rural communities, before trying to cross the border into the still-neutral United States. Both soul-stirring and delightfully entertaining, 49TH PARALLEL features a colorful cast of characters played by larger-than-life actors Laurence Olivier, Raymond Massey, Anton Walbrook, and Leslie Howard.
Directed by Michael Powell • 1941 • United Kingdom
Starring Laurence Olivier, Raymond Massey, Anton Walbrook
At once a compelling piece of anti-isolationist propaganda and a quick-witted wartime thriller, 49TH PARALLEL is a classic early work from the inimitable British filmmaking team of Michae...
The following audio commentary by music and film historian Bruce Eder was recorded in 1990.
Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger • 1943 • United Kingdom
During WWII, Ralph Richardson suggested that Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger make a recruitment film for the Fleet Air Arm, which both he and Laurence Olivier had joined. Pressburger proposed a “semidocumentary,” w...